AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"We have to go back to New York." Foster's eyes are dazed and distant.
"Why?"
"We have to bury your father." His voice is monotone.
Of all the thoughts running through my mind, this was not one of them. How my dad is memorialized doesn't mean much to me right now. I'd mourned the loss of my father many months ago when I left him. Now I feel no remorse at all. Maybe I'm in shock and it'll sink in later.
Foster runs his hands through his hair. "When I saw him holding a knife to your throat..."
"When you were under the water and I couldn't see you, my heart stopped. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
"I thought I'd take my own life. Wouldn't want to go on living knowing your beautiful smile wouldn't greet me in the mornings." He presses his hand to my cheek.
"Okay. That's enough. Can we save the sentimental crap till after we leave the room?" Knox says with a sleepy Sutton standing next to him.
I laugh and change the subject. "Blizzard was a hero tonight. He's only a puppy. He warned me and swam toward you to save you."
"Good dog." Foster scratches Blizzard's nape.
Blizzard looks at us like,hey, I'm a wolf-husky.It's what I do.
"You're a badass dog and you know it," I say.
How lucky am I to have these guys around?
"Thank you for coming home early," I say to Knox, Mace, and Remy.
"You were handling him pretty well, but still could use some more self-defense training." Mace puts his hands on his hips and cocks one knee out.
I nod. "Yeah. I can't swim, bike, and run my way out of an attack like that."
"Well, he had a knife so not much you could have done without a weapon," Foster says.
"We need more guns in this place," Knox replies.
"Shotgun is all we need up here." Foster shakes his head.
"After tonight, we need handguns and rifles." Knox's eyes are dark and laser focused on Foster. We've touched on this subject a couple of times and it's always a sore spot for Foster. He doesn't want to arm a bunch of teenagers with serious emotional baggage.
"You expecting more attackers?" Foster squints at him. Donnie has been convicted and he's in prison. My dad is dead. I think the worst is behind us.
"Good to be prepared," Knox replies. Mace and Remy nod.
Foster chews his bottom lip and keeps his gaze on Knox and the boys. "You depend on a gun, you won't learn to fight with your fists."
"You bring your fists to a gunfight, you lose," Knox counters. He's too street wise for his age.
"We'll talk later." Foster's eyebrows draw together. I hope we don't end up needing more guns up here, but if there's a chance, it makes sense to be prepared.
Chapter 29 The Round Table
Foster
After months of qualifying rounds and a grueling semi-final match, I can't believe I'm at the Round Table finals. Last year's winner, Bruce, waits for me in the octagon at the end of the obstacle course. My blood has been replaced with adrenaline and pure power. There's no room for fear of failure. I've practiced, I have my family watching and cheering in my corner, I have to win this.
They play my story up on the preview screen. They make a huge deal about "Foster the foster-care failure." God, I hate that moniker, but it gets the crowd on my side. The sad music changes to triumphant and they show me with Mila, then they go through each of the semi-final matches. They spend some time on the blood from my mouth after some huge Russian guy nailed me on my second-semi-final round. It bled a lot so it made good T.V. but I came back and clocked the guy and got him on a TKO.
"Tonight is the night. His family is here cheering him on." The crowd roars as they cut to Mila, Knox, Sutton, Mace and Remy. My family. We've adopted Knox, Sutton, and Mace legally. Remy had some issues with the paperwork, but still considers me his dad. They're all wearing shirts that say "Foster for the win!"
